Arc-V: Of Dragons and Magic
by J the Stickybeak
Summary: Fantasy AU. When the world of Arc-V is rewritten by a mysterious force, our heroes must find a way to survive in a new world of magic and monsters. But when only a handful of the cast remember the old world reuniting with everyone can be harder than you might think. Can they turn the world back to the way it was and more importantly: do they even want to? MCs are Yu-boys & B-girls.
1. Chapter 1: The New World and the Old

Greetings Yu-Gi-Oh fandom. I, J the Stickybeak will be attempting to write a fantasy AU story using Yu-Gi-Oh characters and elements. I get the feeling this little experiment of mine will either be a great success or a monumental flop. Doesn't stop me from trying anyway. If you like mystery and discovering things as the characters do then by all means skip ahead to the start of the chapter. If, on the other hand, you would like to know a little more about what I'm doing and some of the rules to this AU then please read the following.

This story technically takes place after the canon events of Arc-V. In that 'world' Leo Akaba wasn't quite as able to accept that he failed to bring back his daughter as the anime ending would suggest. And in my humble opinion why would he. If he was willing to declare war to get his daughter back then I don't think he'd accept the well wishes of a fourteen year old boy and leave things as is.

So when the Leo Corporation digs up an ancient artefact, that for now shall remain unnamed for plot purposes, and discovers that it has the ability to rewrite the outcome of historical events, Leo of course jumps at the opportunity to get his daughter back. He goes ahead and uses it anyway despite the multiple warnings given by the people who sealed it away. It gives him exactly what he wanted . . . along with a whole bunch of other side effects such as partially fusing the dimension people live in with the dimension duel spirits live in as well as setting back most of the world to the medieval era. The world that existed before this event was hereby dubbed 'The Old World' while the one that exists after is dubbed 'The New world'. But only stuffy scholars know that there even was an old world so let go over things you readers will find more useful.

The protagonists of this story are the Yu-boys and the bracelets girls. The artefact that I shall not name separated them but most of them don't remember the old world, same applies to 99% of the rest of the population. I'll be focussing more on the girls to begin with because I think it's only fair that they try to save the guys for a change. Relationship wise I'm fond of love triangles for comedy purposes so don't be surprised if a dragon boy ends up with several girls. I apologise to any potential female readers but I'm assuming the vast majority of people in this fandom are guys anyway. I'll be trying to include as many of the Arc-V characters as I can as well as characters from older Yu-Gi-Oh series. Our eight budding protagonists will be 15 in this story with everyone else keeping the same relative age (plus one to whatever's listed on the wiki). I'll also be using Japanese names for half the cast (Boyle is a terrible surname for a girl and all the justification I need not to use the dub).

Onto the world structure:  
The new world is populated by Spirits, Artificial spirits, Pseudo-spirits, Humans, Astral beings and Ignis (the last two are fairly minor). Duelling has been converted into something similar to what it originally was in Ancient Egypt. People who have the right kind of aptitude can become Summoners and call forth Spirits and the like with whom they have a contract (either individually or by Archetype). Spell and Trap cards have become actual magic used by summoners but I'll get into that down below. Combat between Spirits is more true to real life and not determined completely by attack and defence values. They are measurements of power and a good indicator but it is technically possible for a Dark Magician to defeat a blue eyes with the right tactics in this world. Levels, ranks etc. will also have more of an effect as they indicate a 'health bar' and also allow monsters with high levels to shrug of the effects of monsters with much lower levels (e.g. Blue-eyes white dragon shrugging of the insta-kill effect of fencing fire ferret). I will confess, part of the reason I'm writing my story as an AU fantasy one with matching RPG battle system is because I'm only a casual duellist so I'm not good enough to write a duel and do the characters decks the justice they deserve so I've made do with this system.

Spell and trap cards keep most of their classifications but have become place, magical object or actual magic with spells being labelled as magic/spells while traps are labelled counter magic/spells. Counter traps have become counter counter magic. Most equip spells have become actual objects while ritual spell card are actual complicated rituals. Quick play becomes quick cast and a continuous card becomes continuous, perpetual or eternal magic depending on how strong it is. Field spells are either special locations or classified as world magic, which is considered the strongest alongside eternal magic.

When the unnamed artefact was used it fused the world people live in with the world spirits live in in a way akin to bubble wrap. Both spirits and humans can coexist in the areas where the 'plastic' is one layer without the need for a summoner and are referred to as inter-spirit zones. However when there are two layers of 'plastic' thereby creating a 'bubble', the human and spirit worlds remain separate and they cannot enter each other's worlds without the aid of a summoner. I will also state that these different 'zones' are not consistently uniform like bubble wrap so territory can be any size or shape.

Pseudo-spirits are people who have partially become spirits, either by accident or to gain more power (usually because they didn't have the aptitude to become a summoner) and are able to exist permanently in both worlds without the aid of a summoner. It would be safe for you to assume that most warrior and spellcaster type monsters (like buster blader and dark magician) fall into this category. Some spirits can revert between human and spirit appearance while others cannot. Artificial spirit is just a term to refer to a spirit that has been man made (that does not mean all machine and cyberse monsters are artificial).

The new world is divided up into six kingdoms, one for each series, and all areas outside them are controlled by hostile spirits. They are named, in order of series, Egypt, ########, Old Domino, Heartland, Arcia and ####### with the capital city usually sharing the same name. Our main Antagonist Leo Akaba, as the person who used the artefact in the first place, has become king of Arcia, which represents Arc-V. All the capitals exist outside inter-spirit zones, which are usually regarded as quite hazardous to civilians. The history of the new world is a warped version of all the anime series mixed in with duel terminal stories and archetype stories. Some anime events have already taken place (original and GX) while others are yet to come (5Ds, Zexal etc.).

Phew, I think that covers everything. If not I'll add it later. On to the story!

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V, the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game or any related products as they are the property of Konami and their affiliates.

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Chapter 1: The New World and the Old

Ruri woke with a start, her hand reaching out for something she could no longer recall. Realising the futility, she pinched the bridge of her nose instead and let out an exasperated sigh. It had happened again. For the last few weeks she had intermittently been experiencing terrible dreams she could never remember and flashes of events that had never happened while she was awake. But their was nothing she could do about it and the royal physicians were just as stumped so she called out for her close friend and personal attendant Sayaka to help her get dressed.

"Bad night I take it?" Sayaka asked as she helped her into the black dress reminiscent of the ancient Greek style. It represented her station as the Black Priestess and three of her cousins would be wearing ones just like it in their respective colours: red, purple and white.

"It couldn't have been that bad, otherwise I'd actually remember something," Ruri grumbled as she arranged her hair in its usual style.

"King Leo insists that it's harmless and you shouldn't pay it any mind," Sayaka soothed.

"I know," Ruri sighed. But ever since these things started she'd been getting the growing feeling that she absolutely hated the man. It didn't make any sense since Leo Akaba had always been a kind and generous king. He had taken her, her older brother and even her friend Sayaka out of the rubble of Heartland and into the royal palace. He had fed them, clothed them and taught them, all because her deceased mother happened to be the sister of his first wife. Most royals would have stomped out a threat to their bloodline in the same position.

"If you want, we could go to see the Chief Royal Physician again," suggested Sayaka.

 _In an instant Ruri's world was replaced by a strange windowless room. She was strapped to a cold steel table writhing and screaming her lungs out while the grinning madman held a squirming red bug to her ear._

The flash of memory was gone as quickly as it came as Ruri involuntarily flinched. The Chief Royal Physician or the Doktor as he liked to be called, was a perfectly nice, if a little strange, man.

"Uh, no, todays celebration ceremony is important and we can't afford to be late," she excused.

Despite that she still now felt like throwing up every time she was in the same room as him. These fictitious flashes were so annoying but she just couldn't get rid of the image of that squirming red bug.

Sayaka giggled, "No, YOU can't be late. I'm just a servant girl. Come on, lets get you some breakfast and then we'll head to the coliseum."

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Grand Coliseum, Arcia

No human city was truly complete without the massive structure known as a coliseum. An enormous arena of stone and brick filled to the brim with cheering citizens all usually gathered for humanity's most exciting game and ultimate art of war: Summoning! Under official rules and referees it had been dubbed the Shadow Games by none other than Pharaoh Atem himself. During these events summoners would test their mettle against each other by calling forth great spirits to do battle while supporting them with magical spells and counter spells.

It was here that Ruri met with the other three priestesses on a private balcony reserved just for them due to their important status in the kingdom. It was one of three balconies on this side of the arena with king Leo sitting in the highest central balcony with his immediate family and attendants. The balcony where the priestesses sat was situated on Leo's left while the balcony on his lower right contained ALL thirty or so of his advisers and senior officials.

"Your late!" lectured Serena with her arms crossed and tapping her sandalled foot expectantly.

"Don't be silly, the event hasn't started yet," Yuzu chastised lightly, "Now both of you sit down. We have a few minutes to talk."

So Ruri sat down next to her cousins in the row of four seats meant for comfortably viewing today's events as much as they were for putting the priestesses on displays for the rest of the crowd.

After a few moments hesitation Ruri tentatively asked, "Have any of you been having doubts about King Leo's war on dragon spirits and the role we play in it?"

"Not really," came Rin's immediate and somewhat disinterested reply.

"Have you been having more of those flashes again?" asked Yuzu with concern.

Ruri nodded guiltily since she didn't want to lie to her close friends and family.

Serena huffed and crossed her legs in an unladylike manner, "Look, dragon type spirits are aggressive, intelligent and carnivorous. Nine times out of ten they're the apex predator of their habitat and they kill over a hundred travellers every year. That's more then every other type of wild spirit put together bar demons (A/N: That's fiend type for those of you who don't know). Add on the fact that they're immortals that get stronger as they age and are viciously territorial, hogging all the best drinking, hunting and resting spots so that nothing bigger than a wolf can survive in their excessively large territory. Getting rid of all the dragon type spirits protects both human settlements and helps the environment. Don't feel any sympathy for them Ruri. Dragons are nothing but cold blooded flying killers that torch villages."

"I know," Ruri said, "It's just . . . what about that boy that the prophecy referred to as the Prince of Synchro. Rin, you found him, befriended him, lured him into a trap and then betrayed him. He didn't seem remotely evil or twisted and was genuinely hurt when you betrayed him. Don't you even feel a little bit guilty about using your eternal magic En Winds to cripple and then kill his dragon?"

"Nope," Rin shrugged, "Ever since I did that all synchro type dragon spirits have been 25% easier to kill. It's pretty easy to way up the dozens of lives that's already saved over the feelings of someone who was destined to destroy the world when they grew to adulthood. If anyone should be feeling guilty it should be Serena, she's the one who botched her part of the prophecy."

The Purple Priestess looked away shame faced, "I-I didn't botch it. I'll just have to try again when he pops up again. But for the record Ruri, that guy really was a monster. Yuri took delight in using his dragon in tandem with his plant summons to wipe out whole towns. It was all just some . . . sick game to him. I'm sure the two remaining dragon princes are just as detestable in character. The one that escaped from Rin after she killed his dragon was definitely an outlier."

Ruri hung her head, "I just thought that since Prince Reiji doesn't agree with the war on dragons then maybe we could find an alternative."

Yuzu gave an involuntary shudder, "As strong as they make him, I wouldn't trust someone who has a summoning contract with one of the top five demon factions."

The conversation was then cut short by the booming voice of Leo Akaba, king of Arcia.

"Citizens of my beloved kingdom! We are here today to celebrate ten years of peace within our kingdom. Ten years since the wicked Supreme King Dragon Z-Arc was sealed away. Ten years since we cast out Astrograph and Chronograph Sorcerer from the fifth dimension and replaced them with the artificial spirit Master Spirit Tech Force – Pendulum Ruler so that the perpetual energy within that dimension may be used for the good of all who desire it," spoke the king with his arms wide before pointing above him at the gigantic dragon like machine perched on the coliseum wall, "Ten years since the kingdom has signed the ancient gear contract to strengthen our forces and drive the dreaded dragons from our lands.

I know that for some of you it has been a long HARD road. Our noble crusade to rid the world of dragons has taken many from us before their time. But it has not been in vain. It has never been safer for you to walk the street, to travel and see distant relatives or do business. Many months ago, the White Priestess successfully killed the Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, one of the four ruling dragons that lead their scaly legions. Its' body is now entombed in stone on one of four platforms in the royal courtyard for all to see. I have full confidence that it shall soon be joined by its' brethren in the months to come. We WILL rid the world of this menace, no matter how strong they may be, no matter how far they run or how deep into the earth and high into the sky and hide. Felgrand, Diabolos, the dragon rulers, these are just some of the great titans of history that we have already overcome. The future of this world is ours to decide and with that . . . LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN!"

The crowd roared and the first participant of today's peace anniversary tournament began. Between rounds there were various entertainers and shows for the crowd. For a while Ruri was able to lose herself in the festive atmosphere but alas the day soon came to a close.

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As the sun set Ruri made her way back to her quarters. She had eaten more then enough at the coliseum so some light reading followed by an early night sounded very appealing right now. Removing her sandals as she entered, she walked over to her bedside table to grab the novel she'd been reading. That was odd? Shouldn't the luminous crystals in her room be lit by now? Ruri then immediately stiffened as something cold and sharp was placed against her neck.

"Don't move. Don't scream and don't even think about casting something."

What? What was going on? Ruri began to sweat as her heart thundered in her chest. Her older brother was appointed her official bodyguard and checked the security around this wing of the castle with a religious passion. How on earth did this person get in?

"Now I'm going to turn you around reeeaaal slowly. No funny business, my associates just want to chat," said the voice.

Ruri became very aware of the amour against her back as a strong male hand took her shoulder and turned her to face two more individuals in heavy armour on of which was holding one of her crystal lanterns. They and very likely the warrior behinds her were pseudo-spirits, even more terrifyingly she recognised them as Buster Blader and Gearfried the red-eyes iron knight. Both of them were legendary for their achievements despite Gearfried's low level. More importantly they were well known dragon knights, which meant she was unlikely to live through the minute, let alone the night.

"Good evening, I am Buster Blader and this is my associate Gearfried. We are here on orders on behalf of the great Pharaoh Atem," introduced the famous dragon slayer turned defender, "Well actually the Dragon Knight of Creation behind you is a third party contractor."

Tears began to well in her eyes. The man behind her was a worshipper of Felgrand, a dragon that King Leo's army had killed eight years ago. They were here for revenge, she was going to die, she just knew it.

"You happy now, she's crying, your negotiations have failed, now lets off the bitch already," snapped Gearfried.

"Those aren't our orders," Buster Blader replied sharply.

"What do you mean those aren't our orders! We're dealing with the bloody BLACK PRIESTESS for crying out loud! She and her three little she-devils are responsible for personally wiping out over half the dragons in the world. If they keep going any further then there will be nothing left to keep the balance and the Angelic and Demonic factions will rip each other, and everybody else caught in the crossfire, to pieces!"

The dragon knight chuckled, "You are as crude as your master. Should you continue to make such a racket then I have no doubt the girls older brother along with half the royal guard will be upon us any moment."

"Hey, NOBODY insults Joey Wheeler. He's the best boss in the whole world," Gearfried retort back with a jab of his finger(?).

"Enough, now keep her still while I give her the potion," ordered Buster Blader, "She's the best candidate and this stuff is very difficult to make so we can't afford to waste our only bottle."

Ruri's eyes immediately locked on the small dark bowling pin shaped bottle in Buster Blader's hand and immediately started wriggling to escape. The knight of creation quickly clasped his free hand around her waist and she nicked her neck several times on the sword while Buster Blader put down the lantern and then placed his extremely firm hand on her jaw. Forcing it open, he popped the glass stopper with his thumb and shoved the bottle in her mouth before she could scream. Her stifled cry promptly turned into a gagging cough as she struggled NOT to swallow the stinging bitter liquid. Buster Blader just used two free fingers to clamp her nose shut while the hand on her jaw forced her head back. Inevitably she couldn't/ wasn't fully willing to bite through the glass bottle to breath so Ruri was forced to shallow to avoid suffocation.

The effects of the potion were immediate as both swordsmen stepped back with the bottle. Her body felt both swelteringly overwhelmingly hot and chilling piercingly unbearable cold at the same time. She felt her heart racing while her head throbbed as if it were about to split open. Her legs wobbled as her vision blurred and began to darken. Words echoed and ceased to have meaning as her eyes rolled up and she keeled over twitching. Oh god it hurt!

"Yuto . . . save me," Ruri mumbled incoherently, unaware of her own words before she blacked out and knew no more.


	2. Chapter 2: Hidden Valley of the Odd-Eyes

Wow you guys are really quiet. Either that or you thought my story was really terrible and didn't have the heart to tell me. I honestly don't know since only one person left a review.

Moving on from gloomy topics, it's time to kick things off with Yuya before getting back to Ruri next chapter. This chapter takes place on the same day as Leo's anniversary celebration so enjoy the show. It's a little heavy on the expositions but it should be an interesting read.

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V, the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game or any related products as they are the property of Konami and their affiliates.

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Chapter 2: Hidden Valley of the Odd-Eyes

Somewhere along the border of the kingdom of Egypt, also known as the bloody middle of nowhere lays a hidden valley. Deep in the inter-spirit zone and practically invisible from the air due to dense forest and peculiar weather, this place is known by precious few. The lush and fairly dangerous flora of the valley however is completely unremarkable compared to the valleys primary residents: A herd of over a hundred Odd-Eyes Dragons.

Over the course of history Eyes dragons have always proven as pivotal as they are powerful. The Blue-eyes, Red-eyes, Galaxy-eyes and Odd-eyes are also famous for only signing a single summoning contract at any given point in time. Well, the first three were famous, Odd-eyes were incredibly illusive and considered a myth by all but the most fervent dragon scholars and learned kings. For you see, the odd-eyes had only ever signed one contract and so the entire herd belonged to a single boy who watched them while siting atop a very large rock. He sat there, dressed in common red cotton clothes throwing bits of food to his own personal dragon Odd-eyes Pendulum Dragon and the only unique dragon in the entire herd. Yuya Sakaki watched the herd grazing just like he did day after day for at least the last seven years.

As one might have guessed, Yuya was bored out of his mind. He couldn't leave, oh no, he was much too important to leave for he was the prophesised Prince of Pendulum, the one who brought balance. Instead he was supposed to just stew here in the middle of nowhere until _the time was right, the stars align and the seas part_ or whatever other reason Stargazer invented. Yuya hated the stupid title, it was because of those three words that some foreign king had placed an enormous bounty on his head and sent soldiers to kill him. It was because of those three words that his mother and father had been forced to entrust him to two spirits that had whisked him away to this place. He hadn't seen his parents or any of the performapal spirits contracted to his father that he had made friends with since. Most importantly, being essentially a dragon farmer with no one to talk to was so bloody BORING!

Someone then decided to cover his eyes, "Guess Who?"

"Hello Grace," sighed Yuya in a depressed done.

"What's the matter," Grace asked in concern as Yuya budged up to make room for her to sit.

"Oh, the usual. The dragons are self sufficient so I have nothing to do, I've got no one to talk to so I'm unbearably lonely and there's so much out there I want to see and do but I can't because I'm not allowed to leave the Valley," Yuya huffed.

Grace pouted, "I come see you at least twice a moon so you can't say that you have no friends to talk to."

Yuya waved his hand dismissively, "That's only because I'm the only guy within 10 miles of your village. If the Amazons had another settlement within reach then I'm sure you and your sister wouldn't bother visiting."

"THAT'S not true," Grace immediately blurted.

"In fact, if your tribe leaders weren't scared shitless of my caretakers Stargazer and Timegazer Magician despite their lack of power then I'd probably be strapped to one of those shared mattresses in your village," Yuya continued absentmindedly.

"That only happened when we first met, I wouldn't do that to you now," mumbled Grace with a blush on her face.

She then decided to glomp him to break him out of his funk. As mentioned already, Gloria was an Amazoness pseudo-spirit, which meant she was dressed in typical amazoness attire so most men would have killed to be in Yuya's position. However to this significance was lost on the dragon prince as she was one of only five individuals in his life capable of speaking English so he just considered her behaviour normal.

"Grace, I appreciate the gesture but please stop that before-" Yuya tried to say.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon then took the expected opportunity (and lack of presently available food) to stick it's snout under Yuya and flip him and Grace up to tumble down it's neck and onto it's back. Thank Slither it had a riding harness because the plate armour scales on its' back were fairly pointy. Before either of them could untangle themselves, Odd-eyes took off down the valley.

"So how have things been for you?" Yuya asked more animatedly once he managed to grab a hold of Odd-eyes' horns to stop it from running through a waterfall or a giant thorn bush.

"Training and politics I guess," shrugged Grace as she watched some of the Odd-Eyes dragons look up from their grazing as they passed. Omnivorous (and therefore fairly docile) dragons were really such a rare sight, even before King Leo killed off most of the less aggressive breeds.

"People are still campaigning to mum that we should challenge the Kaiba Core in retribution for that jerk killing grandma a few years ago," Grace continued, "Since mum is the leader of the village she wants Gloria and I to get stronger quickly in case something happens to her. Ooh and my pet tiger evolved, did I tell you about that the last time I visited."

"No, no you didn't," shuddered Yuya as he remembered the annoying overprotective fur ball that had once tried to rip his arm off before Odd-eyes kindly reminded it that dragons breathed fire, "Anyway, I know I've probably asked before but why exactly did Seto Kaiba of all people attack the Amazoness village?"

"Well you know that Kaiba's group is essentially the biggest mercenary guild in the world. At one point we raided a convoy his subordinates were hired to guard so he personally came to our village to set an example. He levelled half the place with a single Blue-Eyes White Dragon before retrieving the stolen goods," explained Grace with a shudder.

"Master Sakaki, it is time for your lessons," called the white clad Stargazer Magician from off to the side, which caused Odd-eyes to screech to a halt and the young amazoness to pout.

"Do I have too," Yuya whined, "It's not as if teaching me math and English will actually help me when since I'm never going to be allowed to leave this place. You guys won't even give me any novels to read for enjoyment."

"I would have thought you would have derived great enjoyment from being taught the fundamentals of summoning," Stargazer replied formally.

"Yay, I can teleport an Odd-Eyes Dragon from one side of the river to the other and then get stomped on for interrupting its' nap," deadpanned the dragon tamer, "Can you at least teach me one of the specialised summoning methods besides basic, advanced and pendulum."

"We can't teach you how to fusion, synchro or xyz summon when you don't have one of those spirits to summon," quipped Stargazer, "Now come along, your . . . friend can stay if she so wishes but Timegazer intends on testing you so she mustn't interrupt."

"Oh goody," Yuya deadpanned as he and Grace hopped off Odd-eyes and followed Stargazer towards the small log house that he and the other three sentient spirits in the valley lived in.

Once they were inside, Yuya went to the small 'classroom' that had been set aside for his studies and sat down at the small desk opposite Timegazer Magician. Unlike his prim and proper counterpart, Timegazer was more laid back with his feet up on the 'teachers' desk and his hands behind his head.

"Yo, how's going. I see your girlfriend came to visit again," greeted the black clad magician.

Yuya just face palmed as Grace blushed, "For the last time, we are just friends. Can I just get on with the test."

"I've said it once and I'm more then happy to say it again: your as thick as a Giant Soldier of Stone," smirked Timegazer behind his bandana/scarf, "Today I want you to tell me the history of pendulum force and then we'll cover some basic rules when dealing with spirits, you cool with that?"

Yuya gave one last sigh of defeat before beginning his sermon, "Pendulum force is a form of perpetual energy that comes from the fifth dimension or pendulum dimension. Spirits that can tap into and harness this power are referred to as pendulum type spirits and usually get respecced during the first time they tap into it. Respeccing or retraining as it is sometimes called, is the process where a spirit doesn't typically get any stronger but develops a new effect significant enough to change its' outward form. This process can be gradual or very sudden in the case of imbuing pendulum energy.

Spirits through which the pendulum force flows are bestowed with a type of immortality were their essence is preserved and their body's are repaired or reconstructed after death. Summoners who can perform a pendulum summon can call forth spirits at a much faster rate than the once every ten minutes threshold that is a persons limit for normal summoning. It is still limited by the five spirit capacity threshold that affects all summoners (A/N: Link summoners incorporate an extra slot for the extra monster zone but Yuya has never heard of link summoning).

The pendulum force was first discovered during the qliphort incident and was fully researched and documented by Vector Pendulum and Master Peace. The former kept his knowledge secret and used it to create an army of un-killable monsters to take over the world while the later shared his knowledge with others to liberate the world from the former. In its' original state, the pendulum force and the fifth dimension from which it originates was governed by Astrograph Sorcerer and Chronograph Sorcerer at the heart of the dimension and ruled over by the four supreme kings: the Supreme Black King, the Supreme Blazing King, the Supreme Violet King and the Supreme White King. (Alternatively referred to as Supreme King 'colour' Dragon or their full English or Japanese translated names.)

Ten years ago, for unknown reasons, a prodigious summoner named Zarc became the first and only known human to enter the pendulum dimension and transcended the boundaries between human and spirit to become a full spirit. The four supreme kings recognised and acknowledged his power, appointing him the fifth king: Supreme King Dragon Zarc. When King Leo of Arcia discovered this, he was outraged that a human had obtained that much power, especially one against whom he held a grudge. Although neither you nor Stargazer have ever told me what exactly that grudge is."

Timegazer gave a weak chuckle as Stargazer glared at him, "Well, I only mentioned that bit by accident. It wasn't particularly relevant to your lessons or what you will have to do in future so we decided that you didn't need to know that information. It's fairly sensitive to those involved and blurting it out will only get you in trouble with certain parties. Please continue, your doing a marvellous job."

Yuya grumbled about being kept in the dark before taking a deep breath and continuing, "Right, so King Leo then created the artificial spirit Master Spirit Tech Force – Pendulum Ruler and successfully sent it into the fifth dimension along with its' weaker prototypes. Through them Leo used trickery to seal Zarc in an eternal prison and cast the two sorcerers out of the fifth dimension. No one knows what happened to them but since they were irregular extra dimensional spirits they probably died. The four remaining supreme kings went into hiding and Master Spirit Tech Force – Pendulum Ruler, controlled by Leo is now the sole and very biased individual able to decide which spirits do or don't get to access the pendulum force.

Shortly after these events some prophet announced that I was the Prince of Pendulum along with three other boys who you claim to be my cousins. The prophecy ruined my life because it was in direct conflict with another prophecy and said that the dragon princes, me in particular, would bring balance back to the world and that I would free the pendulum force so that it could flow freely through the world again. As a result King Leo sent an army to track down the boy with the special aura even though he did not know my name or appearance so my parents were eventually forced to hand me over to you two. Also because of the title I have, I and any spirits I contract with can bypass the permission lock that Master Spirit Tech Force – Pendulum Ruler has enforced."

Yuya stopped and let out a sigh of relief as Timegazer gave him a casual solo applause, "Well done boy, it's good to see we haven't wasted our time drumming that information into that resilient head of yours. Now for the pop quiz on spirits 101. What's the significance of a spirit or pseudo-spirits true name?"

"A true name grants others power over the spirit in question, hence why most spirits go by aliases or titles like Dark Magician or Engraver of the Mark," answered Yuya, "It's not to the degree of slavery and accidental remarks won't force the spirit to take action but deliberately invoking a spirits true name will hinder their actions if they're trying to go against you. However once a spirit reaches a certain level of power and or fame, the process reverses and the spirit gains power every time someone says their name. This applies to spirits like Slither, Obelisk and Trishula before it got corrupted."

"Good, next question: Give an example of an evolution, which is permanent and a temporary shift," said Timegazer.

"Every time Master Peace was imbued with the power of his allies he underwent a temporary shift into a fusion, synchro or xyz spirit for the duration of the battle. I suppose an ordinary Red eyes evolving into a Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon would count for the other one," shrugged Yuya.

"Correct," Timegazer exclaimed, "A pseudo-spirit is a human that became part spirit either through some accident or as an attempt to gain more power. As such most humanoid spirits can be identified as pseudo spirits. However there is another way for a pseudo-spirit to come into existence, what might that be?"

Yuya gave an exasperated sigh, "A pseudo-spirit can also be the child of a human and a spirit or pseudo-spirit."

"Bingo, name the five plague lords and the three viruses they have so far unleashed upon the world," asked Timegazer.

"Uh, I don't know that one," Yuya replied.

"That shows you need to study more," quipped Timegazer as he threw a piece of chalk at Yuya's head, "If you don't know then improvise and tell me what you do remember."

"Ok, ok, no need to hit me," Yuya shouted back, "Lets see, most of them were pretty old spirits dating back several centuries at least. Most of them were demons but I remember their leader was a dragon named Diabolos. He was purified and recruited by the Lightray faction to try and repent for what he'd done. With his help the good guys managed to kill two others while the two newly appointed plague lords escaped.

That all happened before I was born but I do know that when King Leo tried to kill Diabolos roughly ten years ago, his Lightray companions came to his defence. So King Leo labelled the Lightray faction as evil traitors to humanity and wiped all of them out. That's all I remember but why'd you even bring that up? It's not like those defeated demons are going to be allowed to rise again after their forces were eradicated."

Timegazer chuckled, "Yes, why indeed. That's a surprising amount of knowledge for a group whose names you cant even remember."

"Gloria told me that saying a demons name brings bad luck so I never tried to learn them," Yuya deadpanned, "now don't change the topic, why ask a history question that's no longer relevant?"

The black magician pondered a moment before answering, "There are whispers that some of the dragons that Leo Akaba killed may soon return. Forces long dormant are moving unseen with renewed fervour. Rumours, nothing more but considering the Dragon Rulers continually reincarnate you'd be a fool to ignore them. While many may have been friendly towards humans before their deaths, I dread to think what grudges they may hold against those that killed their kin should they indeed return."

"Be that as it may," Stargazer cut in, "I think that will be enough lessons for today. I do not feel that it is appropriate to be telling Yuya these things as he **won't be participating in them, will he Timegazer.** "

The man behind the desk shrugged, "The kids got to know sooner or later. We can't keep protecting him from the world forever. His time is coming, you know that as much as I do."

Stargazer clenched his fists, "I'm not going to allow those sods to turn another person into a sacrificial pawn so they don't have to clean up their own mess!"

"Hey wait a minute," Yuya interrupted before Timegazer could respond, "You guys never leave the valley, how on earth do have you heard rumours from the outside world. Do you have a communication device. Can I send a message to my parents? Don't ignore me dammit!"

"Leave Yuya," ordered Timegazer sternly.

"You will be practicing your world magic Sky Iris tomorrow so make sure you rest up and don't eat anything funny again. We will NOT be discussing this topic again. Is that clear?" added Stargazer.

"Yes," growled Yuya in frustration before storming out of the room.

Grace scowled at both the spellcasters before hurrying after Yuya with a worried look.

Outside Yuya kicked a tree in anger, "Arrgh, I hate this!"

"It's okay Yuya, you can talk to me," said Grace behind him as she began to rub his back soothingly, "I know that things can be . . . difficult at times but it will get better I promise."

"I just . . . want something to happen," Yuya grumbled, "something to brake this endless monotony. You know my dad is, or was last time I saw him, the royal entertainer in Atem's court. There was always so much happening and people were laughing and I never ran out of things to do or friends to make. I miss him and mum and Silver Claw and Slight Hand Magician and everybody else. When I was little there was so much I wanted to do with my life. To see the ocean and desserts, explore ancient ruins and try new foods."

The young Amazon hugged Yuya from behind, "You'll get to do all those things, I'll make sure of it so please, smile for me. I really miss your smile."

Yuya chuckled and finally managed a small grin, "Thanks for being here, I really appreciate it. And I'm sorry, I know it isn't fair on you to be so grumpy when you came all the way just to see me. So . . . thanks again for putting up with me."

Grace tried to ignore her glowing cheeks. He really was too cute when he smiled.

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Back in the cabin while Yuya was talking to Grace.

Once they were alone Timegazer fixed his eyes on Stargazer Magician, "We've had this conversation before. The boy won't let us keep him in the well forever and humanity won't survive the coming year without him."

"Then maybe humanity should just accept the end they've written themselves into. They don't deserve to have someone like Yuya bail them out," Stargazer argued, "War and suffering is all that destiny will bring him, how could he possibly be happy with a life like that."

"You make it sound like he's happy now," Timegazer countered, "If Yuya doesn't like the destiny that awaits him then he will just have to get strong enough to change it. It's not as if no ones done it before. Our little dragon tamer can't stand solitude, he needs the crowds and the hustle and bustle of cities. Yuya needs the freedom to explore and express himself however he chooses. We're practically killing him by hiding him here."

"So you're just going to let history repeat itself," snapped Stargazer indignantly, "We already tried to bring things to an equilibrium where everyone could be happy and the world rejected it. Complete Chaos or absolute Order, those are the only two states the world will accept."

"And with every dragon that King Leo kills, the thinner the buffer between those two sides gets. The Monarchs continue to subjugate settlement after settlement while humans abuse and treat spirits like tools. The Elemental Lords are doing a splendid job of maintaining the ecosystem but without the Dragon Rulers they can't keep it up forever," lectured Timegazer, " You might be worried about history repeating itself but things are different now. We'll be supporting him for starters and Yuya's not some lovesick lad just trying to save the girl he loves. Yuya wants a world were everyone can smile and get along and will pursue it with or without a prophecy. Dragons are the neutral equaliser between the angelic and demonic factions and the pendulum force brings balance to the three extra dimensional summoning types. Yuya's main spirit has both of those traits and is an Odd-Eyes to boot. Yuya will succeed were Zarc failed. King Jaden and Atem have practically bent over backwards to ensure we have everything we need to ensure that he succeeds."

"We'll see Timegazer, we'll see," said Stargazer.


	3. Chapter 3: Black Bird in a Golden Cage

It's been far too long. For those of you who are only reading this to check the status of my pokémon story, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while longer. I'm not suffering from writers block and know exactly what content/topics I want to cover in the next chapter but my attention span just dies within a minute every time I sit down to type it so its' stuck at 20%. When these things happen I feel it's better to write something easier to keep the rhythm going. So I'm sorry for the wait and I never expected it to take this long but that's just how it is.

Now that those who are just skimming for information on other stories are gone: Any questions about the world or mechanics so far? I'm eager for feedback so if there's an archetype you'd like to see or a character you'd like to show up early than do tell me.

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V, the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game or any related products as they are the property of Konami and their affiliates.

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Chapter 3: Black Bird in a Golden Cage

 _History File 1: Demon spirits have always been considered a threat to humanity and are one of, if not the most common type of spirit. They are as chaotic as they are cunning and while many summoners claim ownership over the weaker more prolific demons like Sangan, it is often unclear who is in charge when dealing with stronger ones. Of the many ever-changing forces there are five factions that stand above the rest. The shifting nature of demon politics makes it impossible to say who is strongest among them as power constantly fluctuates but they are know to humanity as follows: Dark World, Darklord, Infernity, Burning Abyss and D/D._

 _(A/N: Before any of you start whining, I am fully aware that all the Darklord monsters are fairy type. However since the ace monster/leader's Japanese name is literally Lucifer I'm going to refer to them as demons even if they're technically fallen angels. Since the average citizen in a medieval world can't read or write I don't think they would be able to tell the difference.)_

Ruri groaned as she slowly came to on the cold hard floor. If this was what a hangover was supposed to be like then she never wanted to drink alcohol. Her thoughts seemed to be split in two which unknown to her was a condition known as psychic dissonance. Diagnosed by psychic type spirits, the medical condition was often caused when individuals lost their memories only to have conflicting personalities and opinions between their old and new identities when those memories were regained. In minor cases this settles fairly quickly as the brain syncs the personas together but until then the patient suffers from confusion and has two different internal lines of thought on every topic.

Shifting slowly, Ruri moved into a sitting position and clutched her head with another groan of pain. The last thing she remembered was –getting attacked by those dragon knights.  
 _-being stuck in Yuzu's head for the last six months._

She immediately flinched and let out a small whimper. Wait. Ruri's eyes snapped open as she quickly ran her hands over her face and body before tugging a lock of her dark hair into view. She had her own body back! Squealing in delight, the girl jumped to her feet and turned to face a mirror, "WHAT the HELL am I wearing!"

 _It's my priestess attire, the same thing I wear everyday._

Immediately grabbing her head at the sharp throb of pain, Ruri took several steps backward and sat on her bed. Her mind was a mess, overflowing with conflicting memories that she was quite certain never happened. Although now she wasn't certain which set was fiction anymore. Deep breaths, you can do this. Just-Just start with a bit of history. I was born in Heartland before –those treacherous astral beings turned on everyone and kicked us out of our own home using the invincible number spirits.  
 _-that Bastard Leo Akaba invaded from fusion and destroyed everything, carding thousands and locking me up in that Ra forsaken tower._

NO, that couldn't be right. Leo was a good king. He raised me and my brother! Ruri doubled over, fighting the urge to vomit as overwhelming waves of gratitude and revulsion clashed within her. The gratitude ebbed away at the dawning realisation that Leo Akaba, the 'great king' had only taken her in so that he could control her. Something clicked in her mind and suddenly she realised that he knew. The flashes of memory she'd been having were about her life before whatever 'this' was. He had taken such an extreme interest in them and then told her they were of no consequence. The way he acted towards certain parties that he had 'never met' before. It all made so much sense. Then Ruri realised that the Doktor had been her personal physician since the age of five. This time she did throw up.

Wiping her mouth, Ruri noted the fancy dark glass bottle and its' stopper lying on the ground and quickly pocketed them. It was obviously the cause of her suddenly regaining her memories and she had no intention of letting anyone else find out in a place where Leo Akaba was king. He'd conditioned her to treat her best friend as a servant for goodness sake. Suddenly stiffening at the realisation that Sayaka hadn't checked on her (or anyone else for that matter), Ruri carefully stepped around the vomit and frantically began searching her quarters hoping to Obelisk that the dragon knights hadn't killed her friend.

Fortunately she found Sayaka bound and gagged in her wardrobe, the poor girls features immediately lighting up upon seeing Ruri.

"Oh thank Obelisk that you alright Ruri. I was so worried and there was this big knight with a huge sword and-" Sayaka started to babble as soon as she was ungagged.

"Shh, I'm fine. I think they just knocked me out and then ran before the guards showed up. More importantly, do you know where my brother is?" Ruri asked quickly as she untied Sayaka's bonds.

Sayaka gave a tentative shake of the head, which caused Ruri to feel uneasy. Shun was extremely overprotective of her and should have found her on the floor during his rounds. Both girls hurried to the entrance of Ruri's quarters and ironically nearly stepped on Shun as they stepped into the main corridor. Ruri's older brother was lying face down on the floor next to a large smashed vase. It seems Shun came to check on her right as the three dragon knights were leaving and they had managed to take him by surprise.

Crouching, Ruri reached out and gently jostled her brother's shoulder, which caused him to jerk and leap quickly to his feet.

"Ruri, what happened? Are you alright," Shun blurted immediately.

"I'm fine, no one was hurt other then you apparently," Ruri soothed, "That's a pretty nasty bump you have on your head there."

"Intruders?" growled Shun before grabbing Ruri's wrist and marching down the corridor.

"Hey wait a minute," cried Ruri, "Where are we going. The intruders aren't here anymore. I think they were just common thieves. Since they couldn't remove the only piece of jewellery I have they just knocked me out and left. Oniisan let go!"

Shun ignored her protests as he turned into the next corridor, opened one of the doors and marched into the room, pulling his sister along behind him. Ruri then realised it was Serena's room as the primary occupant gave a loud shriek, "WHAT THE HELL! I'm getting dressed! HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF KNOCKING!"

"We have intruders, protect Ruri while I inform the guard and secure the perimeter," Shun ordered as he completely ignored their cousin and marched back out of the room.

Serena just glared at the door before turning to her cousin and attendant, "So? What poor level two critter was lured by the singing of your spirits and is about to be slaughtered by your brother's 'totally not a war crime' falcon?"

Ruri sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "That would be Buster Blader and two of his fellow companions. They snuck into my room yesterday so they'll be long gone now."

Sayaka became very pale while Serena just gaped at her. Ruri would have told them more but she was the only one who remembered what happened in . . . what she call it? She didn't want to call it her past life; that would imply shy died. Wait, didn't Reiji mention once that he was studying something called the old world. Oh well, it was as good a name as any other so she'd use that and make a note to ask Reiji about it later. Hopefully he'd humour her considering she slept through most of his lectures on summoning strategies.

"Earth to Ruri," waved Serena, who had finished getting dressed, "Don't ignore me, tell me what happened?"

"Huh, wa?" Ruri replied.

"Why did an elite pseudo spirit like Buster Blader sneak into your quarters?" Serena demanded.

Ruri grimaced. She couldn't tell them, not when both of them would tell 'King' Leo in a heartbeat. Whatever those knights had to gain from restoring her memories, it had to be much better than what Leo Akaba was currently using her for. She had to escape, preferably with Shun, and then she would find Yuto. Thank the Winged Dragon of Ra that the kingdom of Arcia was clueless to his whereabouts.

"I don't really know," she lied, "I came back to my room yesterday evening, saw Buster Blader with two others and they punched me in the stomach. I blacked out and I think maybe I threw up because there was vomit when I woke up. Nothing was missing and I feel fine now."

Sayaka hugged her comfortingly while Serena eyed her with suspicion.

"Are you sure they didn't ask or demand anything?" probed Serena, "Because you have several scabs on your neck indicating you cut yourself on a blade edge."

The Black Priestess's eyes widened and her hands shot to her throat to feel the thin lines, "I-I didn't know about those."

Serena's next comment was interrupted as her bodyguard Sir Barrett burst threw the door. Ruri then spent the next three hours being interrogated by a dozen different people including the king. Prince Reiji showed up too but he didn't ask any questions, preferring to just sit in a nearby chair and watch her as she was interrogated by others. It was all going fairly well until the Doktor tried to examine her and she completely freaked out. Fortunately she was able to diffuse thing by demanding a female physician. Leo appeared to be the perfect picture of calm but it was clear to those that knew him well that he was furious about the intruders. Ultimately he ordered that all four priestesses would be sleeping in Princess Ray's quarters while the wing they lived in had a complete security overhaul. The 25 year old princess wasn't thrilled but understood that her overprotective father had made her room the most secure place in the kingdom if not the entire continent.

As the sun began to set, Ruri and her three counterparts –oops, cousins now- settled down on plushy sleeping mats for a 'girls night' while Ray sat on the end of her bed. It was so weird now seeing Ray in person, as a separate person, rather than the arbitrary reason for the horrible war that ruined her life. Dressed in a slim aristocratic dress composed of light blues, whites and purples, Ray would definitely turn heads. The dress wasn't as frilly or as bell shaped as a Disney princess dress but definitely not practical. Reflecting back on her new life in this world, Ruri was a little disappointed that she hadn't taken the time to get to know Ray who was now also her cousin rather than her past incarnation. She knew that Ray was smart, kind and a little short tempered like the rest of her counterparts/cousins but not much more than that.

This was perfectly understandable, after all Ray was ten years older than her and whenever she'd had free time she had preferred to spend it with people in her own age group. As the other four girls chatted about the latest social trends and upcoming event in the castle, Ruri let herself blend into the background, only giving the occasional yes or hmm when asked something specifically. She needed to think about what she really wanted in life now that she was no longer Leo's pawn and plan out what her next actions would be.

Escaping was a must, she didn't want to live as a decorative bauble and she definitely didn't want to keep hunting dragons. She was sick of war, especially voluntary ones. There was also the matter of how this 'new world' as Reiji had called it, came about. Should she try to go back to or change back this world back to the old one? Would that mean she'd be stuck in Yuzu's head again if things went back to the way they were? As much as she liked Yuzu, she was rather attached to her own body and didn't want to risk going back to being a disembodied voice. So unless she found out that Yuto died or something equally drastic happened Ruri supposed she was better off in this world. Losing 21st century comforts and Leo Akaba being king really sucked but on the other hand the duel monsters game turning into real magic and her deck becoming real spirits that she could talk to and befriend was really interesting.

Crap, her spirits; archetype contracts always came with the condition that the summoner had particular ideals and allegiances. Her contract was with the same lyrical luscinia archetype as her deck in the old world. Ruri had formed a close bond with all the spirits she called upon and knew what they liked and disliked, the difference between ones that had the same name and what tactics they all preferred. Summoning in this didn't quite follow the same rules as the old one and once you were capable of summoning an extra deck or extra dimensional monster normally and formed a close connection to it, you could bypass the normal material cost for an 'accelerated summoning'. This meant that she could summon Lyrical Luscinia – Assembly Nightingale and then swarm the field with the spirits that she would have previously required to overlay for co-op aerial tactics.

From these many interactions Ruri knew that all her spirits were essentially pro dragon hunting. Whether that had more to do with her being pro dragon hunting or whether they'd sever the contract and leave her was something she needed to find out rather urgently. All her plans would hinge on her lasting friendship with her spirits. In all honestly she was very attached to them and would be devastated if they left her.

Quickly glancing around to check if the others were distracted and seeing that Rin and Yuzu were caught up in their age old argument of winter vs. spring being better, the Black Priestess closed her eyes and entered a meditative trance. Sound, smell, touch and technically sight all melted away as she was enveloped in the gentle blackness that was the environment spirits preferred to commune in. Opening her eyes in this spiritual domain between the human world and the spirit world, Ruri waited a few moments for some of her spirits to fade into view. Assembly Nightingale and two Sapphire Swallows answered her presence.

"We have already sensed the shift in your heart," Assembly Nightingale said solemnly.

"Does that mean . . ." Ruri trailed off, her lip beginning to quiver. Assembly Nightingale was the de-facto leader of the archetype so if she wasn't willing to continue the contract then that would be the end of it.

"No child," replied Assembly Nightingale with a shake of her head, "You are still the sweet caring person to whom I offered a contract years ago. What I am more concerned about is the pain and inner turmoil you are currently going through. We do not care whether you align yourself to Arcia or any other party so long as you are true to your own heart. If we are concerned about your health and mental wellbeing then we will talk to you first. Our flock does not just abandon one of our own at a moments notice."

Ruri let out a sigh of relief, "So your all okay with this. Even though I'm now in love with the person called the Prince of Xyz?"

"Yup, yup," chirped the Sapphire Swallow to Assembly Nightingale's left, "We always thought that King Leo was a stupid boss anyway."

"You definitely shouldn't be judging and hating people before you even meet them," added the other, "Nuh uh, make your mind up after you know whether or not this prince is a good kisser."

Their summoner turned scarlet while Assembly Nightingale sighed in exasperation, "Unfortunately not everyone is as accepting of the current events. Independent Nightingale is very mad at you for abandoning your cause and probably won't be willing to speak to you for some time. It would be best not to forcefully summon her until then. She gained her power and new form thanks to Leo Akaba and was rather hurt that you now suddenly hate him."

"Mm," Ruri grimaced, "I know that you can't really see my memories beyond how I feel towards certain people. Just know that I've found out that 'the great king of Arcia' has just been keeping me on a tight leash and using me like a pawn."

Her spirits all nodded and, with no further topics to discuss, they faded and she slowly came out of her meditative trance. What she found when she opened her eyes was Rin poking her in the cheek.

"Ruri, what's the big idea going into a meditative trance when were right in of a conversation," complained the White Priestess, "Do you not like us because that's really rude you know."

"So is poking me in the face," Ruri replied with a nervous chuckle, "I'm sorry, I just needed a moment to talk to my spirits."

Rin sat back with a huff, "Just don't do it again okay, we're already worried about you enough as it is with those memory flashes and yesterdays incident without you deliberately zoning out on us."

"There's just a lot on my mind right now after what happened," smiled Ruri, 'And as upsetting as it is, I can't confide in any of you.'

Serena raised an eyebrow, "You know, if you don't feel confident in your spirits ability to protect you, we could always help you get a stronger contract."

"That's not what I was thinking about," Ruri snapped defensively, "I'm perfectly happy with the spirits I'm already friends with."

"Suit yourself," shrugged Serena, "Just remember that level one spirits really aren't strong enough to impose their effects on stronger spirits. They also always go down in one hit because they lack even rudimentary stamina."

"Okay, okay, I don't think I can sit through another 20 minute argument. Everyone has their own styles and thinks their spirits are the best. Let's just leave it at that," interrupted Ray with a pleading tone.

"Hey Ray, now that I think about it, I've never seen you summon anything, what are you contracted with?" Ruri asked.

The other three teenagers all confirmed her sentiment and looked at their oldest cousin expectantly.

Ray winced, "I guess no one ever told you guys. It's a bit of an unpleasant topic and I don't really remember the details but shortly before dad found all of you I had an accident. As a result I, uh, lost the ability to form contracts. I can't even cast spells anymore."

The four girls all gave 'Ohs' of sympathy and condolences before quickly trying to think of a more pleasant topic.

"Do any of you want to go to the market tomorrow, assuming where allowed after Buster Blader broke into the castle of course," suggested Yuzu.

"Yeah I'd like that," Ruri perked up, "I could do with some new clothes."

"Really?" Rin replied cynically, "I get that we're two steps away from royalty and basically have an unlimited spending budget but you and Yuzu each both have more than quadruple the amount that Serena and I have combined. It's not like we can even get any use out of them since we're required to wear our formal priestess attire in public and around the castle."

This reminder made Ruri fidget uncomfortably; apparently her brother had been right, she couldn't be trusted with an unlimited credit card, "I was actually thinking of something more practical like hiking boots. I realised today that I don't have any clothes suited for travel or combat."

"Oh, I can help with that," said Serena enthusiastically.

"Then it's settled, tomorrow were going on a shopping spree," Yuzu fist pumped.

"Well you girls have fun then, I wish I had a flexible enough schedule to just go shopping when I want," grumbled Ray, "Dad wants at least one of his children present for the diplomatic meetings with that Crowler fellow tomorrow and my _dear_ brother Reiji managed to delegate it to me before I even found out about the meeting. So while you girls are enjoying the day out, Crowler is going to insist on visiting the city museum again and I'll be stuck looking at broken pots of greed for hours on end."

They all chuckled at Ray's misfortune before she told them that they all had to go to bed. While the others were fairly quick to fall asleep, Ruri was kept awake by turbulent thoughts. She still had her spirits but it wasn't the same as having someone to confide in and it made her feel so alone.

Staring up at the roof, Ruri wondered what Yuto was up to right now. She desperately wanted to find him if only to verify that she was alright. Then she wanted to hug him close and not let go for an hour. Being trapped inside someone else's head had really made their relationship quite difficult. Even if Yuzu and Yuya were kind enough to loan their bodies for the day, it was still awkward to have at least six their people watching and commenting on all their intimate reactions. It was also quite clear that Yuya was more than capable of overriding any of his counterparts whenever they tried to do something that made him too uncomfortable. Since she and Yuto were further along in their relationship than Yuzu and Yuya were, that happened a lot. This also bugged Yuzu to no end since she wasn't capable of forcefully taking back control of her body when they wanted to do something that she didn't (like that time Rin took them on that horrifying roller coaster).

Ultimately if she wanted to find Yuto then she'd have to eave this place and if she didn't want to get him killed when she finally found him then Leo's forces couldn't be with her. If she left without permission then Leo would know something was up and try to bring her back, by force if necessary. She could take her brother, even if he didn't remember the old world she could trust him to always take her side. It also helped that for whatever reason Shun really didn't like either of the Akaba men even if he kept his mouth shut about it. Unfortunately, even if she could convince Sayaka to come with her without to much trouble, her friend would be a liability. Sayaka couldn't fight, not in this world or the last one, which meant that she would also slow them down. Since Leo would try to keep up appearances as the 'good' guy, Sayaka would be safer here.

Ruri took out the potion bottle to examine, running her fingers over the decorative ridges and squiggles on the bottleneck. As for her cousins, unless she could restore their memories somehow than they would only attack Yuto. She desperately wanted to help them remember and wanted to believe that they would do the same in her position but she didn't know how. It brought her back to the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind as soon as she had gotten her thoughts straight: Why had Buster Blader (for he was obviously the one in charge of the three), an elite soldier of the Pharaoh Atem, gone to the effort of bringing back her memories? And why her in particular? They mentioned that the potion was hard to come by so surely they wouldn't just give it out randomly.

If this potion was in such short supply then wouldn't they only use it if they had some sort of idea of how her behaviour would change? If that was the case then they wanted someone to oppose Leo Akaba but wouldn't it have been better to go after someone stronger like Reiji or her brother. If Atem had enough knowledge of the old world to know she would oppose Leo Akaba then he had to know about the lancers. Maybe, maybe she met some sort of criteria that the others didn't. That seemed much more likely since she had the unique eternal magic En Birds but that didn't seem quite right. Atem, Yugi and Seto Kaiba between them had the biggest, most deadly compendium of magic and counter magic in the world. They just didn't need her ability to cripple xyz spirits.

Suddenly it hit her: her memories. How could she have overlooked something so blatantly obvious. This potion didn't give people back their memories! It only accelerated the process! Ruri had already been having flashes of her past life for weeks. Somehow the Pharaoh had found out and taken advantage of the situation to undermine Leo Akaba. She already knew that both Atem and King Jaden objected to Arcia's stance on dragons so if a rare opportunity presented itself then some kind of covert op was plausible. It was a shame they couldn't apply more than vague political pressure since two was still a minority in the five kingdoms treaty. The Executive Council that ruled Old Domino was to incompetent to ever DO anything and the astral beings just didn't give a shit about anything that happened outside their own walls.

Deplorable politics aside, assuming she could get her hands on another bottle of memory potion, if she could somehow stimulate the others into having flashbacks to their own lives then they could take the potion and get their memories back. Then she wouldn't have to feel so alone anymore and they could obviously escape with her. The flashes probably had something to do with will power and or spiritual awareness, probably both. That sort of made sense since she knew from the parasite incident that she had the strongest will. Think back, there had to be something else. If that was all it took then Seto, who definitely had a stronger will than her, would have invented all that fancy technology that his company was famous for.

Was it need perhaps? The only people that were close enough to examine and likely to get their memories before her were her brother and Reiji. But they didn't really have any particular _need_ to remember. They were quite capable of obtaining anything they wanted without it. If the need to remember so that one could overcome something was a possibility than it wasn't what had triggered her flashbacks. She had been perfectly content not knowing who Yuto was or what Leo Akaba had done to her. Or was she? That was it! Before her memories started coming back she had been dissatisfied with the hunting of dragons and about whether the dragon princes were really the evil enemy that Leo had made them out to be. She wasn't happy with things and wasn't quite able to accept that this was how her life was meant to be. Her dreams and flashbacks had happened so soon after that that she had mistaken the effect for the cause!

So than if she could make the others realise that something was missing from their lives than they would become receptive to the potion. Rin would probably be the hardest to bring back not only because she was much colder and battle hardened then she had been in the past but also because she had interacted directly with Yugo and not reacted. Oh! Ruri cringed at the sudden realisation. Rin would be devastated when she realised she had killed Yugo's Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. It would bring back memories of what she did during the parasite incident. Her synchro counterpart's trauma from that was definitely the worst. At least part of her own trauma was remembering that terrifying dragon that Yuya had summoned. Rin's pain was solely the result or her 'own' actions.

Ruri finally pocketed the potion bottle and spent the next hour contemplating what supplies she could get away with buying tomorrow without tipping anyone off and how to cause the other three girls to start having flashbacks before she finally fell asleep.

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The next morning everyone got up bright and early. After breakfast and getting permission to leave the castle, all four priestess went out into the city markets. As one might expect, the place was bustling and lively with different vendors selling their goods in brightly coloured stalls. More upmarket or essential stores had their own buildings but regardless of whether you were rich or poor everyone could agree that the paved streets of Arcia were supposedly a good deal cleaner than other cities.

While all four priestesses had travelled outside the city for the purposes of eliminating dragons, it could definitely be said that Serena was the only one who was good at, or liked, traveling in general. At least that was the case before Ruri got her memories back. As a resistance member, even if it wasn't long before she was abducted, she definitely had an appreciation for the art of survival. As Serena dragged them from merchant to merchant, Ruri wondered how much of this stuff Rin would have already known since she had lived in a orphanage and had to scavenge off the streets for meals. The 'new' Rin didn't seem to know and only paid vague attention to what Serena was suggesting to them. Although to be fair, she did use her spirits to fly everywhere and had a habit of ditching her assigned bodyguards in monster infested forests. The position for the White Priestess's bodyguard was still open since mercenaries were no longer willing to take the job and the last four soldiers King Leo had tried to assign had immediately resigned from service.

Several times Ruri could have sworn she saw someone spying on them but their bodyguards either didn't mind the individual or didn't seem to know who she was referring to. By midday they were done shopping for travel and survival supplies and decided a to stop for lunch. Unfortunately Yuzu hadn't bought much, regarding most of the items as 'unflattering and unnecessarily heavy'. They dumped all their shopping on Sir Barrett and ordered him to take it back to the castle with Serena taking great glee in the opportunity to ditch her bodyguard. After lunch the four girls split up and Ruri managed to convince Shun to patrol from the air without too much difficulty. He was on high alert after what happened and concerned about the recurring individuals Ruri kept spotting. Barrett had mentioned one of them was just castle staff but Shun was always suspicious and fortunately never turned that suspicion on his little sister. If he had, Shun would have realised that Ruri didn't want him to be able to see _what_ she was purchasing.

Going from one perfume or potion vendor to the next, the Black Priestess asked them if they recognised the bottle design of the memory potion and quickly moved on if they just gave her a sales pitch. Based on marketing convention (aided by the all conforming universal language of money) almost all potions that existed were categorised and assigned a particular bottle shape, colour and/or pattern. This helped customers quickly find the product they wanted and also made things faster when grabbing potions in an emergency. Health potions came in round bottles, antidotes came in vials, etcetera etcetera. It also made glassmakers a lot more money too. Eventually she knew she found someone in the know by the name of Dark Doriado when they acted with wary suspicion.

"It is an unusual product with a questionable purpose," answered Dark Doriado shrewdly, "I'm not entirely certain as to what it does and I'm not sure it would even be safe to reproduce."

"You know what it does, unlike the last twenty bozos I've asked don't you," Ruri grinned like at cat with a mouse.

"Do you?" Doriado responded flatly.

"Maybe," replied Ruri.

The pseudo-spirit closed her eyes and huffed, "I'd have to smell it to be sure. The supposed contents is very hard to make and ingredients are harder to come by. It wouldn't be the first time a potion has been poured into the wrong bottle."

In other words if Ruri was going to dob her in for knowing how to make it then she wanted to be able to dob Ruri in for having it. So the Priestess removed the glass stopper and held out the bottle, keeping a very firm grip on it in the process. Doriado raised an eyebrow and used her finger to tilt it closer to her nose.

"That's definitely an old world memory potion," Doriado surmised as leaned back, "I take it you were the one who drank its' contents?"

"Perhaps," Ruri shrugged as she pocketed the bottle.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Doriado as she glanced around for eavesdroppers, "Why are you coming to me instead of your previous distributer?"

"Bit hard when I was force fed it by one of Atem's personal best," Ruri grumbled under her breath.

Doriado looked bewildered, "That Oaf actually snuck into the royal castle."

"You knew about Buster Blader?" asked Ruri with equal surprise.

"He's been here for the past week pestering every pendulum spirit he could find," Doriado replied looking disgruntled, "Polite, easy going, said he was on holiday."

"If he's polite then why would you call hi an oaf?" Ruri probed.

The pseudo-spirit gave a derisive wave, "Three days ago he tried to sell me a super conductor tyranno leg. While I'll admit both the hide and the bones are quite valuable, he just dumped whole thing on the counter, bleeding everywhere. And let me tell you the stench from that particular dinosaurs flesh is absolutely rancid. Despite all this, Buster Blader had absolutely no idea why are was upset with him even when I was gagging for breath."

Ruri gave a sympathetic chuckle before getting back on topic, "So . . . can you make the potion?"

"Hmm," hummed Doriado hummed in serious thought, "I do know the recipe however I've never made it before. It's extremely complicated even though it doesn't involve any celestial conditions such as full moons. Since you are one of the four Priestesses I know that you'll definitely have the money however it would be unreasonable of me to ask for payment in advance when there's a good chance I might botch the product. How much were you after at a minimum?"

"Enough for three people," Ruri requested with tentative hope.

Doriado frowned and Ruri was unable to hide the dismay on her face.

"I'm afraid I only have enough for two, assuming I don't stuff up; as I said earlier, the ingredients are quite rare," stated Doriado, "1000 gold coins per bottle, that price is not negotiable as the ingredients are worth roughly 850 gold coins to procure. It should take me three days to make so I expect you back here in a timely fashion to collect your legally dubious off my hands."

"I accept but is there anyway you can make more if you had more time," pleaded Ruri.

"Tragically no," Doriado said with a look of pity, "Magic is a strange and complicated thing. I am not a scholar who is knowledgeable in the old world and until today thought it was likely a myth but I have heard some of the more popular rumours surrounding the legend. No one knows who was responsible for the conversion of the old into the new but they say that the one responsible is still watching and always ensures that 'the truth is always obtainable for those who truly wish to seek it'. This potion is peculiar in the way that at any given point in time events play out so that there are only enough ingredients to make exactly enough potions for the number of compatible with it. So I'm afraid that even after I have finished making them, only two of your companions will be compatible by the time you have to leave."

"How would you know when or if I have to leave?" bristled Ruri defensively.

"Don't mistake me for some fool, child," scolded Doriado, "I am a spellcaster that uses the six attributes in harmony and weak as I may be, even I can see the damage king Leo is doing to the balance of the world. While I have no clue as to what your past in the old world was, if you had been aligned to his goals and ideals then you would be asking someone in the castle to make the potion rather than out here asking me. When you are found out you won't be able to stay."

"Thanks for the warning but I'm not planning on getting caught anytime soon," Ruri stated tersely, "I'll be back in three days time to collect two potions and I would appreciate it if you look into acquiring the ingredients for a third."

With that Ruri left for the castle and was told on arrival that the renovations to the Priestesses wing of the castle were complete so she could return to her quarters. Finding her day's purchases dropped off in front of her room, she carried them in and unpacked them only to find a small package and a letter that wasn't part of her original purchases. Since the letter didn't feel like it contained any magic she decided it was safer to open that first.

 _To the Black Priestess_

 _I hope that this letter finds you in good health after our last encounter._

 _My Lord Felgrand in his divine wisdom has instructed me to bequeath this gift to you and trusts that you will use it when the time is right for its' intended purpose._

 _May you live long enough for our paths to cross again,_

 _K. C._

Ruri only had one thought in response to this letter: What kind of cryptic know it all git leaves a message like that! If the Knight of Creation wanted her to use something for a specific job than he should just tell her. Also, she was quite certain that Felgrand Dragon was dead.

Huffing, Ruri ripped open the small package that had been so thoroughly and lovingly well rapped as if it were some holy relic only to gasp and nearly drop the thing because it really was just one step away from being considered a holy relic. If she only had her memories from this world, she would not have recognised it as the small talisman in her hands really was just that rare. However, as she did know she remembered the object clearly from the playing card and knew the lore associated with it in this world. It was Monster Reborn or more correctly: a monster reborn talisman.

: :

: :

Prince Reiji Akaba strode down the moonlit corridors of the castle. It should be noted that, while Reiji did not have any memories of the old world, if one were to compare his attire between his two lives they would find a striking resemblance. He had always been a man of power, inheriting the role of CEO in the old world and Prince in the new one. However he never really conformed to how you would expect a CEO to dress. Any normal person from the old world would quickly label him for a geek because instead of nice suits and designer clothes he chose to wear things purely for comfort while ignoring all fashion trends and expectations. The prime example of this was his cheep variety store shoes and his aversion to socks. In this world, while the materials had changed, his attire looked almost identical with a plain long leave blue shirt, long white pants, red rimmed glasses and favourite red scarf. The only change was a pair of practical generic boots simply because sneakers no longer existed.

Finding the doorway he wanted, Reiji placed his hand upon the door so that the magical security system would recognised his summoning signature. Stepping through as soon as the door opened, the Prince walked into the pitch black room beyond without the slighted concern as the door closed behind him, sealing Reiji within. Why would he be concerned, after all he designed the room, which was a specially modified summoning chamber.

"In accordance with our contract I call upon thee," Reiji commanded, "Sages of eternal and infinite wisdom come forth and bestow your guidance."

Ten transparent pillars of blue white light immediately illuminated the room. Nine mechanical figures rose up within the pillars to sit suspended within the light. These were the D/D Savants, the council whose knowledge and wisdom was feared and revered as the greatest in all the land. While each had a face that vaguely resembled that of a human, the rest of their form was not recognisable or comparable to anything that could be called 'life'. As for the room itself, the walls, roof and floor were all obsidian black stone. It was round and vaguely resembled a courtroom with each pillar of light remaining behind an imposing bench in a circle around Reiji. The pillars remained the only source of light within the room leaving the rest shrouded in darkness.

"We of the D/D answer your call in accordance with our contract. Speak and we shall enlighten," spoke D/D Savant Kepler in a cold metallic voice that reverberated.

Reiji nodded. While others might consider such formalities of speech excessive, they were important when dealing with demons. Strict words prevented making mistakes and a demon that broke rhythm was likely trying to mislead their summoner. He had designed this chamber specifically so he could summon and consult with all the sages at ones without regard for the normal summoning thresholds. Even if most of them were physically harmless, vigilance was always best when dealing with so many demons at once.

"I have come to inform you of an irregularity and consult your opinion on the matter," Reiji announced crisply, "Two days prior Buster Blader and two unidentified dragon knights snuck into the castle and into the quarters of the Black Priestess. She was not harmed and no detectable magic was upon her. Nor did they see fit to steal anything or leave anything behind."

"A curious matter indeed," D/D Savant Albert replied, his voice, like all the others, was almost identical to the first.

"Since the event I have noticed behaviour from the Black Priestess that isn't in keeping with her character or the normal reactions to such events," stated Reiji, "The girl was vague and likely withholding information about her assailants and seemed to regard the authority figures she once respected with concealed distrust. Today I had a few of my men follow her and the other Priestesses and noted that she acquired many resources that one would use to travel or escape. She also browsed several apothecaries and potion vendors for information but visibly bought nothing."

"It is likely she had obtained her old world memories," concluded D/D Savant Schrodinger.

"I concur," D/D Savant Newton agreed, "She had already exhibited the early signs as we were all aware. The dragon knights administered the potion and then left before they could be caught, hence er sudden interest in the liquid forms of magic."

"A sound judgement and one of the possibilities I had considered," nodded Reiji, "Do you know any other plausible explanations?"

"No. If one examines the evidence than this is the only conclusion that we can draw from it," responded D/D Savant Dirac.

"Do you believe she is a threat to our plan. As we know little to nothing of her past life we cannot be certain how she will act," Reiji enquired, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"It is doubtful. If anything her actions will be a boon," D/D Savant Nikola surmised, "She will most certainly turn on her master, removing one of his key pieces. No matter how hard he may try to invert it, Leo cannot remove the connection between the En Priestesses and the Dragon Princes."

"The world cannot survive on its' current trajectory," added D/D Savant Galilei, "Spirits and humans are in constant conflict. Unless something is done to change how things stand, one or the other will cease to exist."

"This would be a most grievous tragedy," D/D Savant Thomas noted, "One that King Leo is bringing ever closer with his crusade against the neutral dragons. Humanity will not survive a full scale war between the forces of Order and Chaos."

"Even if the girl were to oppose us, it would be of no consequence. She knows nothing," affirmed D/D Savant Copernicus, "We advise that you do nothing for now. If she comes to you for aid then do so. As long as we do not reveal our hand than the plan will not fail."

"Very well," Reiji bowed, "I shall keep you appraised of further developments. I am certain that, if nothing else the coming months will be most interesting."

With that, Prince Reiji turned and left the chamber, the Savants exploding into golden particles as they returned to their natural domain.


End file.
